Can closure plug

ABSTRACT

A CLOSURE FOR SEALING A CAN OPENING DEFINED IN THE TOP END WALL OF THE CAN COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RESILIENT MEMBER WHICH IS PROVIDED WITH A PERIPHERAL GROOVE OF DECREASING DEPTH FROM FRONT TO REAR. THE FRONT PORTION IS SLID INTO PLACE WITH THE EDGE WALLS OF THE OPENING RECEIVED IN THE GROOVE. THE DECREASING DEPTH OF THE GROOVE FACILITATES SNAPPING THE REMAINDER OF THE MEMBER INTO PLACE TO SEAL THE OPENING.

F 1972 R. S. LUTZKER 0 CAN CLOSURE PLUG Original Filed March a, 1968FIG.2

i f f 6 i INVENTOIIZ. Roberr S. Lurzker ATTORNEYS United States Patent27,301 CAN CLOSURE PLUG Robert S. Lutzker, Scarsdale, N.Y., assiguor ofthirtythree and one-third percent to Lawrence D. Lutzker, Scarsdale,N.Y.

Original No. 3,445,030, dated May 20, 1969, Ser. No. 711,557, Mar. 8,1968. Application for reissue Feb. 6, 1970, Ser. No. 9,141

Int. Cl. B656 43/10 US. Cl. 220-60 11 Claims Matter enclosed in heavybrackets II] appears in the original patent but forms no part of thisreissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additionsmade by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A closure for sealing a can opening definedin the top end wall of the can comprising a substantially resilientmember which is provided with a peripheral groove of decreasing depthfrom front to rear. The front portion is slid into place with the edgewalls of the opening received in the groove. The decreasing depth of thegroove facilitates snapping the remainder of the member into place toseal the opening.

This invention relates generally to a closure member for sealing anopening in a container and, more particularly, pertains to a member forclosing the opening in the top end wall of a so-called pop-open can.

Presently, pop-open cans of the type having a tab opener in the top endwall of the can are gaining widespread use as containers for beverages,including carbonated drinks. When the tab is removed, an elongatedopening is formed in the top wall through which the drink may bedispensed. However, a problem is presented if a portion of the drink isto be preserved for later consumption, particularly if the drink iscarbonated.

More specifically, the carbonation in the drink simply will escapethrough the opening in the can thereby leaving the drink fiat. As aresult, the primary drawback to the use of such pop-open cans resides inthe fact that the drink must be finished immediately or very soon afteropening the can.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a closuremember for removably sealing the end opening of a so-called pop-opencan.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a closure memberfor a can which is provided with means for easily removing the member.

Another object and feature of the invention resides in the novel detailsof construction which provides a closure member of the type describedwhich easily may be snapped into place to seal a can opening to preventthe escape of gases therefrom.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a closure member fora can which may be used repeatedly, that is simple and rugged inconstruction and which is economical to manufacture.

Accordingly, a closure device manufactured in accordance with thepresent invention for sealing a can opening defined in the top end wallof the can comprises a resilient member having a peripheral groove whichdecreases in depth in a rearward direction. The groove is "ice adaptedto receive the edge walls of the opening therein. Additionally, means isprovided on said member which is adapted to be grasped by an operator tofacilitate removal of the member when it is received in said opening.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from a consideration of the following detailed description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top elevational view of the closure device constructedaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof taken along the line 22 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is a perspective View of the cam closure device shown partiallyinserted into the opening in the top end wall of a can;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detailed view, partially in section, illustratingthe closure device in sealing position in a can opening; and

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view, partially in section, of the closuredevice in sealing position in a can opening.

A can closure device constructed in accordance with the presentinvention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 in thefigures and is adapted to seal an opening in the top end Wall of apop-open can. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the can 12 includesa top end wall 14 which is connected to the circular side wall 16 by abead 18 in the conventional manner. Formed in the top wall 14 of the can12 is a removable section (not shown) having a key ring attached theretosimilarly not shown) to facilitate removal of the section. When thesection is removed an opening 20 is defined in the top wall [15] 14through which the beverage or contents of the can may be dispensed.

The opening 20, as shown in FIG. 4, includes side or edge walls 20Awhich taper outwardly and rearwardly to the bead 18 and terminate at arear edge wall 20B which is spaced inwardly from the bead 18. It isemphasized that this particular shape of the opening 20 is forillustrative purposes only and is not to be interpreted as being alimitation of the present invention. That is, the opening 20 in the topend wall of the can may conform to any desired tapering shape, it beingunderstood that the closure device 10 will accordingly be dimensioned toseal the particular shape of opening 20 in the end wall 14.

The device 10 includes a body member 22 having a top surface 24, abottom surface 26, and a peripheral wall 28. The shape of the device 10conforms to the shape of the opening 20. More specifically, theperipheral wall 28 tapers outwardly from front to rear of the bodymember 22 and terminates in a rear wall portion. Defined in theperipheral wall 28 is a circumferential groove 30, which extends aboutthe main body member 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the groove 30 decreases indepth from the front to the rear of the device 10 so that the depth ofthe groove is substantially smaller at the rear (i.e., the left-handside) of the device 10 than at the front of the device.

To be more specific, the upper wall of the groove 30 is defined by a topflange 32 and the bottom wall of the groove 30 is defined by a bottomflange 34 (FIG. 2). The side walls of the flange portions 34 taperinwardly from the front to the rear of the device 10 so that the extentof the flange 34 adjacent the rear end of the device 10 is substantiallysmaller than the extent of the flange portion 34 adjacent the front endof the member 3 )r device 10. Hence, as noted hereinabove, the depth ofhe grove 30 decreases in a rearward direction.

Additionally, the upper surfaces of the flange portion 34 are convexupwardly whereas the lower surfaces of :he flange portion 32 are convexdownwardly so that the walls defining the groove 30 are curved towardeach )ther and, in practice, define a space which is smaller :han thethickness of the wall 14.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom flange portion 34 and he top flangeportion 32 extend rearwardly so that the groove 30 extends across therear of the body member 22. Moreover, a tab 36 upstands from the rear ofthe member 22 for reasons which will become apparent from 1consideration of the operation of the present invention, is noted indetail below.

The top flange 32 is sized to be slightly greater than :he opening 20.In practice, the top flange 32 is designed that it will extend beyondthe edges of the opening 20 by approximately ,6 of an inch.

In operation, the front of the device is inserted into be openingapproximately half way between the front ind the rear of the openingwith the edge walls 20A re- :eived in the groove in the device 10. Thedevice 10 s then slid forwardly by grasping the tab 36 and pushing:oward the center of the can. Accordingly, the edge walls 20A definingthe opening 20 in the can seat themselves n the groove 30. The device 10is moved forwardly until :he forward edge of the opening 20 abuts thebottom wall of the groove 30. Thereafter, the device 10 is snapped .ntoplace by pushing downwardly on the device.

Since the bottom flange 34 is of smaller dimension toward the rear ofthe body member 22 of the device 10, ;he downward pressure applied tothe rear of the device [0 will cause the rear portion of the bottomflange [32] 34 to buckle slightly thereby permitting the rear portion )fthe bottom flange 34 to pass through the opening 20 mtil the top surfaceof the end wall 14 abut the bottom surface of the top flange 32. Hence,the edge walls deining the opening 20 in the end Wall 14 of the can will9e securely received in the groove 30 with the upper and .ower surfacesof the wall 14 pinched between the top and bottom flanges 32 and 34 ofthe device 10. That is, he space between the convex surfaces of theflanges is lesigned to be slightly smaller than the thickness of thewall 14. Accordingly, the flanges will exert a pressure on the surfacesof the wall 14 thereby to seal the open ing 20.

In practice, the device 10 may be fabricated from a Flexible andresilient material which, ideally, is chemizally inert, such as nylon orTeflon or a similar plastic. When it is desired to remove the closuredevice 10, the ab 36 is grasped and an upward force is exerted on theand of the member 22 via the tab. Accordingly, this upward force willcause the rear portion of the member 22 :0 move upwardly because of thefact that the depth of he groove 30 is extremely small toward the rearof the device. Thereafter, the device may be moved rearwardly ".odisengage the front portion of the member 22 from :he edge walls of theopening 20.

Accordingly, a closure device for a pop-open can ias been disclosed forsealing the can to preserve the :ontents of the can which is simple tomanufacture and easy to operate.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has 36611 shown anddescribed herein, it is obvious that nunerous omissions, changes andadditions may be made .n such embodiment without departing from thespirit and ;cope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure for sealing an opening defined by the edges )f the top endwall of a can comprising a resilient memaer having a top and a bottomperipheral flange which iefine a groove therebetween adapted to receivethe can :dges therein, said bottom peripheral flange tapering invardlyrearwardly whereby the depth of said groove decreases rearwardly tofacilitate the reception of the edges into said groove, said memberfurther including tab means adapted to be grasped by an operator forremoving said member from said opening.

2. A closure as in claim 1, in which the space between the walls of saidgroove is smaller than the thickness of the associated end wall of thecan.

3. A closure as in claim 2, wherein the walls defining said groove areconvex inwardly toward each other.

4. A closure as in claim 1, in which said tab means comprises a tabupstanding from the rear portion of said member.

5. A closure as in claim 1, in which said member is fabricated from anylon material and said tab means is integral with said member.

6. A can closure for sealing a can opening defined in the top end wallof the can, said closure comprising a resilient member having aperipheral groove which decreases in depth in a rearward direction, saidgroove being adapted to receive the edge walls of the opening therein,and means on said member adapted to be grasped by an operator tofacilitate the removal of said member from the opening.

7. A closure as in claim 6, in which said groove is defined in part byan upper wall which is larger than the opening so that the lower surfaceof the upper wall abuts the surface of the end wall adjacent to theopening.

8. A closure as in claim 7, in which said groove is further defined by alower wall in opposed relationship to said upper wall, the opposingsurfaces of said upper and lower wall being convex toward each other tofirmly grip the top wall of the can to seal the opening.

9. A closure as in claim 6, in which said groove includes a rear portionadapted to receive the edge wall defining the rear of the openingtherein.

10. A closure as in claim 6, in which said means includes a tabupstanding from the rear of said member.

11. An essentially one-piece, molded flexible and resilient can topopening closure for a pop-top can opening of the type which is wider atthe can top periphery, which gradually decreases in width and which isnarrow at the center of the can top comprising:

a top wall constructed and arranged to extend over the opening, the topwall presenting finger-engaging surfaces for facilitating the removal ofthe sealing lip from within the can and the entire closure from the cantop opening, the top wall being larger than the opening so that thelower surface of the top wall abuts the outer surface of the can topadjacent to the opening;

an integral body portion depending downwardly from the top wall andhaving the same general peripheral configuration as that of the edges ofthe can top defining the top opening whereby the body portion is widerat one end, decreases gradually in width and is narrower at the otherend;

a sealing lip spaced downwardly from the top wall and extendingoutwardly from the body portion, the lip being adapted to be insertedthrough the top opening along with the body portion, the lip havingupper surfaces adapted to engage with the inner surfaces of the can topadjacent the top opening and adapted to form a seal therewith to retainthe can contents in the can interior and prevent fluid leakage throughthe top opening passed the closure;

the integral body portion, top wall and sealing lip defining aperipheral groove in which the edges of the can top adjacent the topopening are adapted to be received;

the efiective clearance between opposed surfaces of the top wall andsealing lip being less than the thickness of the can top whereupon theexterior and interior surfaces, respectively, of the can top adjacentthe can top opening are engaged when the closure is mounted across thecan top opening to seal the contents of the can, the opposed surfaces ofsaid References Cited 10? wall and sealing lip being substantiallyConvex The following references, cited by the Examiner, are

r other to firmly grip the top wall of the of record in the patentedfile of this patent or the original can In sealing the opening; andpatent the closure being mounted in sealing relationship on the 5 UNITEDSTATES PATENTS pop-top can across the can top opening and the interiorof the can containing a carbonated beverage 3,229,478 1/1966 Alons? 22024 UX with the gaseous pressure generated by the beverage 3,428,2122/1969 Rohrhok 220 60 in the can interior increasing the seal betweenthe J ozggil sealing lip and inner surfaces of the can top adjacent 10the can top opening, the closure and the lower sealing lip beingconstructed and arranged to prevent unin- GEORGE HALL Pnmary Exammertentional removal of the closure from the can top US Cl XR openinginstant to the build up of gas pressure within ZZOWZ 4 4 the caninterior.

